How to Play 90-Ball Bingo
Trivia: what popular game in the UK is reported to be played by many famous personalities like Spice Girls' Emma Bunton and Bono?
The answer: 90-ball bingo.
90-ball bingo is a game variant of 75-ball bingo. 75-ball bingo is played more popularly in Northern America and in Canada. 90-ball bingo, on the other hand, is the variant more popularly played in United Kingdom. Hence, it is also referred to as UK bingo.
Like 75-ball bingo, 90-ball bingo is a draw-and-mark game. That is, a machine draws numbered balls in random and players mark the numbers that hit on their cards using daubers or bingo chips.
The main differences of 90-ball bingo from 75-ball bingo are seen in the number of balls and the type of cards that the UK variant uses.
UK bingo draws in random balls numbered 1 through 90. It uses 3x9 grid cards. That is, each card has three rows and 9 columns. Yet, each card contains 15 numbers only.
The first column of the card may contain any numbers from 1 through 9; the second column, 10 through 19; the third column, 20 through 29, and so on and so forth so that the last column carries numbers from 80 through 90.
However, each horizontal line bears only 5 numbers and 4 empty spaces. Therefore, some columns may bear only one or two numbers.
90-ball bingo is played and won in stages. The first stage involves making a one-line horizontal markup (5-number hit). The second stage involves marking two horizontal lines (10-number hit). The third stage is a coverall. Meaning, all 15 numbers of a single card must hit and be marked off. This stage is referred to as "Full House."
One round of the game may have as many as three winners since each stage may have a different winner. Each stage, in other words, may produce a different winner.
Another difference of UK bingo from its North American variant is found in the dominant game culture practiced in UK bingo parlors. In UK, 90-ball bingo is seen primarily as a mode of socialization. Bingo parlors and private bingo clubs are venues for drinking beer, dining, and meeting friends and new friends, as much as they are venues for fun and gambling.
90-ball bingo is the game variant that dominates UK private bingo clubs and parlors. Even famous people like Jade Jagger and Robbie Williams have been sighted playing the game. This is not a surprise at all since 90-ball bingo is not only a game that gives hefty prize money, but also a time to socialize with different people over food and drink. Famous or not, anyone would surely enjoy playing this game and meeting new friends.